The Silver Warrior - Etrian Odyssey IV Fanfiction
by TheGreatPikminZX789
Summary: The Heavenbringer has been defeated, yet the work of the Refulgent Guild doesn't end. While the guild is out, Shirota goes out on a walk and finds herself clinging back to a dim hope, all thanks to a crimson Imperial...
1. Chapter 1

Shirota hardly knew what the times of the night brought about in Tharsis, and since she couldn't get any sleep, she decided to walk to a silent street, if only to have a couple of her own thoughts to herself. A couple of minutes later, Shirota turned to see an Imperial just exiting a building with a batch of Imperial armor. Though, from the looks of the armor he had in his hands, it was something that the dancer thought she would never see again... It couldn't have been...

Before the Imperial could move away from the house, he found himself being surprised at the Dancer that came up to him. "What the hell?! How'd you sneak up on me?!" He exclaimed, barely losing his grasp on the armor.

"I'm sub-classed as a Nightseeker, so I'm used to sneaking up quietly on others. But still, what's with that Imperial armor you have in your hands?" Looking down at the armor he had in his hand, he faced the Dancer, trying to regain his composure. "Well, I never seen silver Imperial armor before, so I was going to try and see if Logre knows who wore silver armor."

While Shirota sort of understood the Imperial's intention, she wanted to inspect it for herself. She quickly swiped it away from him, and looked at the armor for any signs. "Hey, don't you know it's rude to swipe something out of someone's hand without permission, lady?"

The Imperial questioned, though the Dancer didn't seem to care about answering him. Eventually, Shirota sighed. "No signature... I was hoping to find some sort of sign that my mother is alive." She clutched the armor near her chest, while the Imperial scratched the back of his head. "Your... mother, was an Imperial? And with THAT rare Imperial armor, of all things?!"

Shirota simply nodded, seemingly recollecting her last memory of her mother. "Tell me, what was her name?" Shirota's eyes glared at the red-cladded Imperial's eyes, and although both of them didn't know each other, the Imperial could feel the Dancer's sad aura.

"Shira. When I was growing up, many called her the Silver Warrior. I think she was the only known Imperial to have ever lived outside of the Cloudy Stronghold before the airship crash occurred. Ever since the Heavenbringer's defeat, I've been hoping I can meet her again and tell her of the tales of what I had struggled with to defeat the Titan of legends..."

The Imperial quietly listened to Shirota's story, attempting to recall if he had met anyone named Shira during his time in the Cloudy Stronghold. "Well, I don't quite know if I had met anyone named Shira, lady... If I knew, I'd tell ya." He sighed, as he patted the Dancer's back.

"My name's Zesiro, by the way. You caught me off guard that I forgot to even introduce myself." He declared, as Shirota turned to face him. "I'm Shirota. And uh, my apologies for sneaking on you like that."

Although she didn't have to apologize, Zesiro wasn't one to complain. In fact, it just made him more aware of the person talking to him. "I-I think I should show this to Logre. Perhaps he'll have more information on what happened to my mother all those years ago..." Shirota addressed, getting kind of worried someone from her guild would likely find her and tell her to get some sleep.

"I'm not sure if Logre recalls every Imperial member from that airship crash, but hell if I know. He could surprise you in more ways than one." Zesiro coaxed, leaving the dark skinned woman confused, before Zesiro started walking away.

"Remember, Shirota; this is a secret to everybody, so don't go spilling it out willy-nilly~" The red-cladded Imperial called out, before walking out of Shirota's sight. Although with the silver armor in her hands, she's going to find her mother, the Silver Warrior- or rather, the Silver Imperial, no matter what. Her hope rekindled, she made her way back to the house where her guild was staying in.

She _had_ to find Logre, and pray that her mother was not dead as the Dancer believed so long ago. If her armor was still around, there was still hope that she was still alive too. There was no way a simple airship crash could have bested an Imperial like her...


	2. Chapter 2

The walk back was thankfully quick. The guild house they received from the Count was only a few blocks away from where explorers visit the Count himself, so it was easily noticeable by anyone who walked by. Lately, they've been getting many visitors after defeating the mighty Titan, and some of the members of the Refulgent Guild was getting rather tired of it.

Thankfully, today wasn't one of those days where they were constantly bombarded by people who have been inspired by them. Normally, Shirota would check to see if Korey, Anai, Kurita, and Sakuma were back, but Korey did tell them that a recent quest they accepted will take some time.

"Ah, Shirota, you're back." Kibigami's voice nearly startled the dancer, as she turned to see the Sentinel on the seat. She hardly even noticed him, and even he is much bigger than her in terms of height. Shirota took a couple of seconds to calm down.

"God damn it, Kibigami, you nearly scared me to death."

"My apologies, Shirota. I've hardly seen anyone else come back from their trip, and I've been helping explorers nearly all day." He swiftly apologized, letting the dancer calm down.

Surprises aside, she asks the large Sentinel where Logre is. "Hmmm, if I recall, he and Albert went to the outlook to discuss something. Why do you ask?"

The dark brunette dancer held out the armor she was clutching tightly to Kibigami, who inspected it. "It's because of this rare Imperial armor. And this armor in particular happens to have connections to my mother." She explained.

After inspecting the silver armor, Kibigami thought to himself for a bit. A mother who worked for the Empire was something he thought he'd never encounter, much less, having that very thing be connected to the dancer he was conversing with. Needless to say, he was intrigued.

He did witness a few Imperials back when he was living in the Golden Lair, but even he was unable to save them. They were either blue, red, or a shade of black. None of them showed an inch of silver, so even this news was surprising to him.

"Shirota, allow me to accompany you to Logre. I'm quite curious to know what he may know of this silver Imperial." Kibigami proposed, as he was positive he wasn't going to get answers by just doing nothing. Without a word spoken, the dancer nodded, and started making her way to the outlook, with Kibigami following behind.

True to the Sentinel's word, Logre and Albert were there. Shirota wasted no time in getting his attention. "Hey, Logre!"

Hearing his name, the Imperial turned to see Shirota and Kibigami heading towards them. "Evening, you two. Any reason why you're out this late at night?" Logre inquired, to which the dancer swiftly answered, while revealing the armor to him. "I couldn't fall asleep, okay?! Just look at what I found!"

"Is that... silver armor?" Logre asked, rather astonished at what he's seeing before his very eyes. Albert took a look, and his face immediately lit up, as if he just found some rare treasure.

"Not just any regular silver armor, Logre- that's silver Imperial armor! Tell me Shirota, where did you get this?!"

"Well, I found this Imperial guy named Zesiro, who had it originally, and then I took it from him, we talked about it, and well, here we are..." Shirota answered honestly. Even with an answer from the dancer, Logre was still surprised at what he's witnessing.

"But, how... I don't..." He uttered to himself, almost in disbelief. There was no way an Imperial soldier would find an armor that rare...

"Logre, please tell me if you saw someone wearing this armor! I need to know if my mother is still out there!" Shirota pleaded, hoping he'll tell her the information she needs. She wasn't going to lose the opportunity now that it's in her hands.

"Well... I, uh-" Logre started, before looking at Kibigami, who was patiently waiting for an answer. Silence reigned for a few minutes, as Logre attempted to find the right words to say, before Albert inevitably sighed and nudged his shoulder.

"Come on, sir. Don't keep our guests waiting, just get on with it." Albert teased, which prompted Logre to swat his arm away. "Oh shut up Albert, you're not helping things."

Logre's response prompted a short chuckle from Albert, turning away from him to turn his attention to Shirota, who was clutching the armor near her. "I suppose one of the Imperials who was on the search crew alongside me was wearing silver armor, but I never knew her personally. All I know is that she was a strong Imperial soldier, and I'm not even sure if I ever saw her again after the crash..."

Shirota seemed to avert her gaze from Logre's, hearing what he knew about her mother. "I see... I was honestly hoping for the best and expecting everything to work out easily..." It wasn't the most exciting news, but it hurt Shirota to know that the person she went out of her way to get to didn't have the most direct of answers...

Kibigami must have sensed Shirota's guilt, and attempted to comfort her by rubbing her shoulder. "No need to worry about the negatives, friend. If she's out there, I'm sure she'll return to you. It would be rather sad for a parent to leave their daughter like that."

Albert was also about to comfort Shirota, until he heard footsteps coming towards them and looked behind the Sentinel. "Oh, am I interrupting something?" Baldur asked, when everybody looked at him the moment he spoke.

"N-Not at all, Baldur. I was just talking to Logre and Albert about something..." Shirota explained, seeming to loosen her grip on the armor.

"About what, may I ask?" The Imperial Prince asked, before glancing at what Shirota was holding onto, and immediately, Baldur was taken aback. That armor... How did she even?

"...Shirota, may I hold the armor you have in your hands?"

The dark skinned dancer looked at the armor, and gave it to the Imperial Prince. Baldur wasted no time inspecting it. He couldn't even believe what he was holding... After all these years, is it possible that she was still out there?

"Did you remember something, my prince?" Logre asked, concerned that Baldur was likely overreacting to something so old. Baldur assured him that he was alright before looking at the armor.

"I recall... seeing someone with this armor a year before the exploration failure. To think I'd see any trace of the armor was nigh impossible!"

"Impossible, you say? In what way?" Kibigami questioned, his curiosity being raised with more answers that he receives. Baldur took a few seconds to explain what he was about to say, then turned to look at the Sentinel.

"Well, I don't recall much of what I had heard before the airships launched, but apparently, records of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Imperials had all just _vanished_. No one in the council knew how or why this happened. I doubt they care about such records now as they were then, but it was rather strange that records coincidentally disappear before news of the airship crash came to the Empire."

"Interesting... Do you think it might have been an act of sabotage, Prince Baldur?" Albert commented, as Baldur attempted to think of something. Logre, however, butted in on the question.

"I doubt it, Albert. The council forbid anyone to go through the records, and the fact that such records of those colored Imperials were the only ones in the Empire, I find it hard to believe they specifically wanted to sabotage the Empire if all they did was remove three Imperial colors."

"And I doubt the council would remove them and feign ignorance as to how they vanished..." Baldur added, after listening to what Logre suggested might be the case. He knew how strict the Council was when it came to anyone but themselves looking at the records in fear that the one looking at them might snatch them away.

"Who knows... I was just merely throwing a suggestion out there. Whether or not that's the case, I doubt we'll find out now." Albert sighed, shrugging his shoulders while leaning back against the fence.

Baldur turned to Shirota and gave her back the armor, satisfied with relieving the sight of the Imperial armor for himself. "Regardless, from what I heard, that Silver Imperial served my father well. The robes on the armor were meant to originally symbolize that the Imperial was selected by my father, before it was supposedly lost because the Council hated wasting their resources on such minimal additions. Her strength was on par with Logre's, if one were to compare the two of them."

"I concur. From both my father, and from watching her spar with other Imperials... But if my mom is still out there, I want to show her how much I improved. I just pray that she survived the airship crash." Shirota conceded, seemingly being lost in conversing with the Imperial Prince for a couple of minutes.

Kibigami perked up when he heard footsteps approaching him, and turned to see the white haired Arcanist, Wufan. "Hello Wufan. Decided to come up to join us?" The Sentinel asked, as the Vessel chuckled at his question.

"Oh, how I wish, Kibigami, how I wish..." She replied, continuing moving towards Baldur and the others. Logre and Shirota eventually notice Wufan approaching, as Shirota halted her conversation with the Imperial Prince to greet her friend and ally.

"Glad to see you made it back, Wufan. I assume everyone else is back, too?"

The Vessel nodded in response, so as to get to the point of why she was there. "Yes, they're currently at the Outland Court. The Count has asked every member of the Refulgent Guild to come, hence why I came all the way here. And he also adds that if the Imperial Prince wants to come, despite the Yggdrasil curse that's plaguing him, he can."

Baldur was honestly quite surprised the Count had even gave him a second chance, even after what had occurred the first time the two had discussed about the Yggdrasil. In all honestly, he felt like he didn't want to go, but given his status as prince, and the fact that he's stuck under the Refulgent Guild's watchful eye, he just couldn't feel like he would have nothing to do but sleep if everyone else went.

"I see. Tell him that we'll arrive shortly." Logre acknowledged, as Wufan simply nodded and started making her way back to the court. Baldur was still lost in his thoughts when the Sentinel called out to him.

"Look, Baldur- I know you and this Count fellow didn't see eye-to-eye at first, but the man's giving you a second chance. If I were you, I'd seize the opportunity to mend what went wrong before. Besides, what have you got to lose?" Kibigami then stood up and started following Wufan.

Logre's voice seemed to bring Baldur back to reality, as the Prince looks at his most loyal Imperial. "If the thought of meeting him is too much for you, you don't have to go. We can-" Logre offered, stopping midway through as Baldur signaled him to stop.

"Look, Logre, I understand you're appreciation for my concern, but this curse, nor the mere thought of meeting him won't stop me from doing anything I can to help another. Let's make our way over to the Count at once." He addressed, his voice as firm and clear.

Logre couldn't help but grin at the Prince's words, as he patted him on the shoulder before he started to make his way towards the stairs. Shirota followed him, as Logre offered to help carry the armor, handing him said armor as a means of accepting his offer.

"Looks like I'll have to tell everyone else about this later..." She began, as Logre didn't seem to agree with the idea too much. "Well, tomorrow would seem like a better option, Shirota. It's late enough as it is..."

Baldur could hear their conversation diminish as they went down the stairs. He started following them, when he realized that the Imperial wasn't following him. "Hey, are you coming or not?" He called out, getting the Imperial's attention, who merely motioned him to buzz off.

"Don't worry about me, your highness, I'll be there soon. Just want to think to myself about what I just learned today."

"If you say so, soldier..."

Taking his word for it, the prince heads downstairs to catch up with the others, leaving Albert alone on the outlook. Although he's worked so hard for the Imperial as it's main overseer of materials and the Council's most helpful scientist, the mere mention of a Silver Imperial seemed to never cross his mind. Truly, the Council would have told him of this sooner had the records not vanish into thin air.

"If such armors really did make it out of the Empire... then they should have been left to rot in our history. But I can't help but wonder if they truly exist... If they would have the will to make it back alive, after all that has happened."


End file.
